We’re approaching the Full Moon in Aquarius on Thursday August 18th at 2:26am PST, 5:26am EST, 10:26am UK, at 26 degrees Aquarius. This represents a completion or culmination in this area of your birthchart. This Full Moon highlights the polarity between Aquarius and Leo. A yod to Jupiter may lend a subtle, unsettling, irritable quality to the day, but also holds promise for spiritualizing the energy. Adjustment is required.

Aquarius is future oriented, technological, innovative, eccentric, and concerned with the good of the group. It's detached from its self-interest, and focused on the “we” of friendships, organizations, and humanity itself. Its detachment lends a cool, and objective quality of mind: Aquarius is the scientist. Its promise of a New Age is one in which humanity’s present problems are overcome through technological innovation and social consciousness which acts in the interest of the group.

Leo represents the polar opposite. Leo’s ultimate goal is creative self-expression. It revels in the creative process as well as the attention it receives from displaying its creations. Leo desires to be special, removed from the group, the centre of attention. The actor on stage is the archetype of Leo, as is any performer or anyone who brings joy to others through their expression. Flare, flamboyance, style, and playfulness are characteristics of Leo.

Opposites, though, are inherently linked, representing two poles of one and the same aspect. The commonality is they both concern the range of ego orientation, from me to we: the ruling class vs. the collective, the celebrity vs. the ordinary citizen, the performer vs. the audience, subjectivity vs. objectivity, the artist vs. the scientist. One way to reconcile the opposition is to accept that every single human (Aquarius) possesses unique creative gifts (Leo), that ultimately benefit us all (Aquarius) when expressed (Leo).

Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, planet of sudden awakenings, shocks, and surprises, both good and bad. Uranus is the revolutionary. Future oriented, it has no patience for the status quo. It’ll use whatever means necessary to shake humanity out of its stupor, and bring in the New Age. Uranus is transiting Aries from 2010-2018, indicating this is a new cycle in humanity’s social development.

Conjunct Eris (June 2016-April 2017), the struggles of those on the margins is highlighted. We should see increased consciousness raising regarding oppression and injustice during this period.

Not only is Uranus the ruler of this Full Moon, but it’s trine the Sun, and sextile the Moon, making its energy all the more potent. These aspects bring out the more positive manifestations of Uranus: insight, intuition, welcome surprises, chance connections, progressive social change.

Uranus and Aquarius are concerned with the group: our wider circle of friends and acquaintances, and any organizations we belong to. A Full Moon in Aquarius may urge us to let go of attachments that no longer serve us and make new connections that foster our personal and collective evolution.

The yod at the time of the Full Moon points to Jupiter. A yod is a triangle with two planets 60 degrees (sextile) from each other, and each 150 degrees (quincunx) from the third. The planet at the apex is highlighted. Uranus sextile the Moon forms the base of the yod, with the apex at Jupiter in Virgo. The two quincunx aspects (Moon-Jupiter, Uranus-Jupiter) can create a subtle, underlying tension that requires adjustment to resolve. The resolution can be aided by the two planets sextile each other (Moon in Aquarius sextile Uranus in Aries).

Jupiter’s year-long transit through Virgo (August 2015--September 2016) is nearly complete. This transit highlights small things and details, as well as bringing us luck with health. Any underlying medical issues have been more likely to surface this past year, which may not at first seem lucky, but awareness of the issues allows us to deal with them. We also have had a boost in revitalizing our exercise routines, practices, daily routines, etc. Jupiter in Virgo aids us in cleaning up our act, eliminating toxins, cleaning up the earth and our bodies.

This transit has been ongoing, but now this yod brings it into focus, and shows what we need to shift in order to harness the positive manifestations of Jupiter. Letting go of addictions, judgmental mindsets (Moon-Jupiter), or misdirected rebellion (Uranus-Jupiter) are examples of possible adjustments that may be needed. Pay attention on the day of the Full Moon to gain insight into what adjustments are required of you.

As I spoke about in my last video, the ongoing Neptune-Saturn square (November 2015-September 2016) is highlighted all month. This aspect can manifest as confusion, indecision, delusion, fantasy, dishonesty, fear, racism, dogmatism, intolerance for others’ beliefs. However, there are also positive manifestations of this energy, although they may require working consciously with this aspect to transform it to the higher expressions. The potential is for consciously creating our reality, making our dreams real. Whatever thoughts and emotions we hold to and foster in our hearts will shape our reality and our future. If we’re holding to fear and anger, we’ll attract situations that justify those feelings. If we hold to our vision of the reality we wish to create, we’ll attract the circumstances to manifest that vision.

Coming up, Mercury will go retrograde in Virgo from August 30 until September 22nd. We may start feeling the effects already this week as Mercury slows down. As Virgo is concerned with details, and Mercury with communication, this retrograde period will be especially good for editing, revising, reworking, and refining. If it’s possible to wait until the second week in October to finalize any major decisions, or sign any contracts, do so (or act now before the end of August). But please don’t act out of fear. We can’t always plan our lives around retrogrades, and it’s best to move forward when we feel the impetus to do so. Especially since we’re just now coming out of the months’ long Mars retrograde, so there hasn’t been a clear window for action all year. October and November are the only months in all of 2016 that no personal planets are in retrogrades or retrograde shadows: these are the best months for moving forward with launches, contracts, and decisions.

We are also approaching two powerful eclipses in early September. Eclipses signal major shifts, endings and beginnings. We may glimpse intimations of these changes already in August. More on the eclipses in my next post.